Home
by FirstAidKid
Summary: Dawn was kidnapped almost a year ago. Spike finds her, and well, he's angry. DawnConnor, DawnSpike friendship. Complete!
1. Reunion

Title: Home Pairing: Dawn/Spike friendship, Dawn/Connor(later), Angel/Cordelia(later) Rating: R for adult themes at this point Author's Notes: This is canon through Family. Basically, right after that episode, Riley left Buffy. You figure out the rest, but if it's unclear what happened when, please ask. Feedback: Please, I'm a feedback junkie. GIMME! Disclaimer: I worship Joss and would never want to do anything to displease him. He owns everybody in this story, and my soul.  
  
Chapter 1- Reunion  
  
Spike walked down a street in LA, the cool night breeze blowing gently against him. The area was mostly quiet, though a car drove by every few minutes. Spike figured he would go back to New York soon-that whole city was awake at night. It made him feel less.dead. He started to hear soft cries and harsh whispers nearby.  
  
"Please-I didn't mean to disrespect-" a girl cried.  
  
"Shut the fuck up you slut!"  
  
The girl cried out in pain. thought Spike. He ran over to the sidestreet where he heard the struggle coming from. A large muscular man was kicking a cowering girl who was crouching on the ground. Spike smiled to himself. "Oi!" He shouted to the man. "What the sodding hell do you think you're doing?" The man turned around, and Spike realized with a shock who it was. "So this is how you've been spending your time since you left Buffy? Attacking innocent girls?"  
  
"Spike," Riley started. "Get. Out of here. Before I flatten you."  
  
"Sorry mate, that won't be happening. Either of them actually."  
  
Riley laughed. "What are you going to do? You can't hurt me."  
  
"Guess again," said Spike, and punched him in the face. Riley punched back, and Spike toppled them both to the ground. Spike punched Riley over and over as Riley flailed beneath him. After a few minutes, Spike stood up, gave him a nice big kick in the stomach, and left him there. He was unconscious, not dead.  
  
Then Spike turned to the girl. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her hands over her head pulling her face down to her knees. She had long brown hair, and was wearing a thin cotton dress a couple sizes too small for her, and Converse sneakers with designs on the toes. Not wanting to startle her, Spike kneeled on the ground next to her. "Hey," he said quietly. "You alright?" He touched her shoulder, and she lifted her tearstreaked face from her lap. "DAWN?" he cried.  
  
"Spike?" she whispered.  
  
"Oh God, Nibblet!" He tried to collect himself but he was too angry to move. A purplish bruise surrounded right eye and a new one was starting to show on her left cheek. Finger shaped bruises covered her neck, and her lip was bleeding. "Can you move Sweet Bit?" She shrugged her shoulders a little. "Can I.is it alright if I pick you up?" She nodded slowly. He scooped her into his arms and she rested her head against his shoulder. He could feel her silent tears trickling onto his chest. "S'okay Nibblet, we'll be home soon." 


	2. Thoughts

A/N: This chapter is kinda short. The next one will be longer. Thanks for the awesome reviews guys! The faster you review, the faster I update. Luv ya! Chapter 2 - Thoughts  
  
Spike unlocked the door to his apartment. He entered the basically presentable bedroom/kitchen and wished he had cleaned up a little more. He pulled back the covers and laid the sleeping teen down. Spike removed her shoes and pulled the covers up to her neck. Then he went into the kitchen and warmed up a mug of blood. He brought it out to bedroom area, sat down on the couch and leaned his head against the wall. He couldn't believe he'd found her. When Dawn had disappeared last summer, Buffy shut down. She really hadn't been the same since. She went to him for comfort once in the middle of the night, and they'd started sleeping together. But she always seemed so distant. Dead inside. Maybe he was dead on the outside, but he was more alive than she was. After a couple months of watching her cry herself to sleep, cry herself awake and everything in between, Spike couldn't take it anymore. He took off. He'd been regretting it, now that he knew she was gone. He called Willow about two months ago, to see if there was any news about Dawn. She said no, but there was something else. Buffy had been killed while she was patrolling. A vampire had staked her with her own stake. And Joyce had died too.  
  
But now.everything had changed tonight. Dawn was here. Safe. Spike thought it was too good to be true. He was afraid for her. And sad. Those eyes, they had once been so full of life, but like Buffy, they weren't here anymore. They had seen too much pain to be the same Dawnie. He needed to talk to her. And.she had been with Riley. Riley had kidnapped her. As Spike began to process all the thoughts that were just coming to him, he wiped a tear from his eye. He really wanted to hit something. More specifically, someone. He would wake up at some point. Spike would have to think about that.  
  
After Spike finished his mug of blood, he still smelled it in the room. He realized Dawn was still bleeding. He didn't want to disturb her though. She'd get cleaned up in the morning. 


	3. Reflections

A/N: Thanks to Claire Starling and Jennifer for reviewing. And thanks to Emily for letting me rant about this (and check for reviews like 5 times) last night. Sigh. Please review!! Chapter 3 - Reflections  
  
He nodded off on the couch at some point, because he woke up when he heard screaming. It was still dark outside and Dawn was tossing around, protesting something. He sat on the bed and gently shook her. "Nibblet?"  
  
She opened her eyes and sat up. "Spike?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me. You were just having a nightmare."  
  
She looked around. "Where am I?"  
  
"My flat. I took you here after.." he trailed off. She looked at her hands. "Do..do you want to talk about it..or take a shower..or..do you need anything?" Spike asked quietly. For some reason, he had a hard time choosing his words.  
  
"Um, I guess I should take a shower."  
  
Spike got her a towel from his closet. "Uh.if you want, you could borrow some clothes."  
  
Dawn looked down at her dirty, torn dress. She blushed. "Yeah, ok." He got her a black T-shirt and black jeans. She went into the bathroom and got undressed. She looked at herself in the medicine cabinet, the only mirror in the apartment. She was fifteen, but she felt so much older. She hadn't seen herself in what seemed like forever. She had lost a lot of weight over the past year, and her ribs jutted out. She had bruises everywhere. There were scars on her wrists from the time when she had tried to end it all. Riley had found her in the bathroom of their hotel room in Las Vegas. She had gotten a really bad beating after that.  
  
She touched the arm that had recently healed from when he broke it. She had tried to leave. She hadn't gotten out the door though. He was waiting for her in the kitchen, in the dark. She had thought he was still out. He threw her against a wall and twisted her arm all the way back. He had taken her to the hospital after he did it. He told them she had fallen down the stairs. She said it was true. She said he was her guardian. The nurse had looked at her sadly. She knew she didn't believe her. Part of her was afraid of what would happen if the nurse did find out, and part of her was silently pleading for them not to let Riley take her home. But they did.  
  
She stopped trying to leave after that. It really wasn't so bad all the time.he really cared about her, and she just made him angry sometimes. Dawn stepped into the shower. She really had missed everyone. Especially Spike. And mom. And Buffy. And Willow and Xander and Tara. Even Anya. When he was mad..it was really scary sometimes. And when he wanted..she didn't want to think about the other stuff. It was embarrassing to think about. And it had never been good like her friends talked about.  
  
She got out of the shower and quickly got dressed. The clothes were too big, but they were better than what she had been wearing before. Riley didn't buy her many new things. He said she should keep her clothes in better condition, and that she was a spoiled brat anyway. She shuddered at the memory of the time when she had been getting him his coffee and she accidentally tripped and spilled some on his shirt. He slapped her and then locked her in the bathroom for a day. When he let her out, he made her..Dawn shut her eyes, pushing away the memory. She sighed and went back into the bedroom. There was a note on the table.  
  
Dawn-  
  
I didn't have any food in the house so I went out to get you some. Don't worry, I'll be back before sunrise.  
-Spike  
  
Dawn looked around the apartment. There was a bed, a couch, a TV, and a dresser. Off to one side was a small kitchen. One chair was tucked beneath the table. Dawn figured Spike hadn't had much company lately. It made her kind of sad. Maybe he was missing too.  
  
He also had a phone. She pondered whether or not to call Buffy, but she decided to wait. She just wasn't ready for a lot of questions and pitying looks.  
  
Spike entered about ten minutes later with milk, cereal, bread, yogurt, apples, oranges, bubble gum, Snickers bars, cookie dough, M & M's, and more teen magazines than one could consider reading in a week.  
  
Dawn smiled. "Thank you," she said.  
  
After she ate breakfast, Spike cleared his throat. "Pidgeon? There's uh.." Dawn looked up at him. God, he didn't want to do this. But he had to tell her. He'd remembered while he was shopping that she didn't know about her mom and Joyce. He couldn't decide whether to tell her both at once or to wait a while after telling her about Joyce to tell her about Buffy. Neither option made much sense. She didn't need a double blow after everything she'd been through, but she'd feel deceived if he didn't tell her both now. He decided to just tell her both at once. "There's something you need to know. Joyce..she..your mum and Buffy..passed away while you were..gone."  
  
"What?" Dawn whispered so quietly he wouldn't have heard it without vampire hearing. The space between them on the couch seemed to be a whole lot bigger than it had been. "What happened?"  
  
"I'm so sorry, luv. Your mom..she had a brain tumor. And Buffy was killed fighting a vampire. I.." Spike trailed off. He had wanted to say more..not to leave that hanging in the air. Surrounding it with more words would make him hear himself say it less. But there was nothing left to say. He could tell her when it happened, or how the vampire killed her. He knew all of that, but that was all insignificant.  
  
"But..that can't be..I mean, they didn't know where I was.if I was alive.I didn't get to say goodbye." Tears were flowing freely down her face. Then Spike realized she was sitting right next to him and he pulled her into a hug. When she stopped crying, she had to ask him. she told herself. But she was scared. "What's going to happen to me?"  
  
"We'll work it out," he told her. He would wait to tell her that she couldn't stay with him. For one thing, he didn't have a job, and had nowhere for her to stay. For another, he knew Riley would come looking for her, and he knew she was with Spike. And above all else, he had to keep her safe. He needed to get her out of there though, and the sooner, the better. 


	4. New Home?

A/N: Thanks to Claire Starling (Again. You rock!) and SpikesInsaneButILUVHimSoMuch, my spirits were lifted and I decided to procrastinate by posting this. Mwahaha. Also, I scewed around with the timeline stuff. Let's just say Connor came back from Quortoth three months ago and he's starting to settle in to society, going to school and all that, and he and Angel are sort of getting along.  
  
Chapter 3 - New Home?  
  
She slept most of that day, after Spike insisted that she needed to. He was right. Though she woke up twice from nightmares, she slept peacefully after that. Spike watched her the entire time and thought about what to do with her. Finally he came up with a solution.  
  
They were sitting on the couch and he was stroking her long hair as she leaned against him. "Bit?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You know I care about you right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Because, I do. But you can't stay with me."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I was thinking, and why don't we go over to Angel's and ask if you can stay with him? He's got plenty of room.and I'll come visit you a lot."  
  
"Um, I guess. Ok. Thanks." She didn't know how to react. She barely knew Angel. Come to think of it, she had never actually met him. All that was fake. That time he tried to kill her when he was Angelus..it never even happened. So she didn't have anything against him. But she felt so alone. She'd be lonely there. There wasn't really a way around that, though, she thought to herself. I  
  
They left the apartment after sundown. Just before they got to the door, Spike stopped her. "I got you something," he said as he pulled a book out of his leather duster. A diary. She hugged it and smiled at him. "I uh, didn't know if your old ones were all still in Sunnydale or whatnot..so- "  
  
"Spike. Thank you. That was really nice."  
  
"You're welcome, sweet bit. You ready for this?"  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be." She clutched the dark blue hardcover book and Spike opened the door. Angel, Wesley, and Cordelia were looking through ancient-looking books behind a desk, a skinny girl with long brown hair was typing on a computer, a tall African-American man was cleaning a long sword, and a teenage boy with shaggy brown hair was writing in a notebook and looking over a thick textbook. They all looked up when the door opened.  
  
"Spike?" Angel asked surprised. "What are you doing here?" Angel glanced at Dawn and then turned back to Spike.   
  
"We need to talk, Peaches. Privately?" Spike said to Angel.  
  
"Spike?" Dawn whispered. "You did ask him, didn't you?"  
  
"Well, not exactly, no," said Spike nervously.   
  
Angel motioned for Spike to follow him into his office. "Why don't you sit down, Bit?" Spike squeezed her hand and trailed after Angel. Dawn sat on the circular blue couch in the middle of the room next to the teenage boy.  
  
Angel shut the door after Spike came in. "What's going on Spike, and who was that?"  
  
"That's Dawn you wanker."  
  
"What? I thought she disappeared."  
  
"She did. I found her last night. Riley kidnapped the Bit. She was just..it was awful for her. And she needs a place to stay. I can't keep her safe and I can't support her, and she doesn't have anybody left after Buffy and Joyce..please, mate. I know you've got the space."  
  
Angel sat down and sunk into his chair, shocked. "Of course. Is she..is she ok?"  
  
Spike sighed. "No. But maybe she will be." 


	5. Hello Goodbye

A/N: Sorry, I don't think Spike's gonna be living with Angel, but this is hardly the last we've seen of him. There's going to be some Spike/Connor interaction. I mean Connor is Spike's uncle, great-uncle and brother all in one! Hehe, I have too much free time, I made a diagram.  
  
Chapter 5-Hello Goodbye  
  
Dawn was getting more and more uncomfortable. In the last two minutes, the other four people in the room had gone off in various directions, leaving just her and the boy on the couch. He kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She tried to ignore him. She drew her knees up to her chest and winced; her rib wasn't quite healed yet.  
  
Connor saw that pained look cross her face, heard her quiet gasp and he melted. When she walked in, he had just been curious. Her clothes were too big, and she looked tired and sad, and had two bad bruises on her face as well as some on her neck. Her hair wasn't brushed. Her lip was cut. But then he watched her. He saw how she reacted to the room around her. He suddenly needed to know who she was. "Are you alright?" he asked her.  
  
"I'm fine," she said quietly, looking down.  
  
"I'm Connor," he said. Those smooth introductions were still a work in progress.  
  
"Dawn," she said, turning to face him.  
  
He couldn't decide whether she wanted to be left alone or whether he should keep talking to her. But then he noticed she was staring at him, and he had to stare back. "So..uh..do you know Angel?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah. He dated my..my.." she looked down again and closed her eyes. "My sister." He saw her clench her jaw, and just barely saw her wipe a tear away.  
  
He swallowed, unsure of what to do. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked, and gently touched her hand. She jumped and looked at him.  
  
"Sorry," she said. "I'm really ok." She forced a little smile.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed. Maybe she was just startled, but.. "I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
They were staring at each other again. Then the office door opened and Angel and Spike walked out. "Hey, Dawn," said Angel, and smiled slightly.  
  
"Hey."  
  
Spike walked over to the couch where she was sitting. She stood and hugged him tightly. "I'll be back in a few days. We can do something fun."  
  
"Ok." She didn't know what to say. She really didn't want Spike to leave, but maybe she had at least made a new friend. They let go and he walked away.  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Bye Nibblet." The door shut behind him.  
  
TBC 


	6. Dreams

Chapter 6 - Dreams  
  
Dawn lay awake that night. Unfamiliar place. It hadn't been like this at Spike's. He was right there. But she got the feeling Angel really didn't want her here. They had exchanged some awkward formalities and then when silence swallowed their non-existent conversation, she muttered something about being tired. Cordelia made up a room for her and tried not to stare. She asked her if she wanted to go shopping for new clothes the next day, which Dawn agreed to. But then she realized she was basically broke. Unless somebody had forgotten to tell her, her family hadn't left her a whole lot of inheritance, and she sure as hell didn't have any money, or a job. Basically she was living off of whatever Angel wanted to give her. It didn't feel right. Riley always told her she was taking too much from him.  
  
"You selfish bitch! I work all day to support you and you don't do shit! I ask one little thing from you and it's too much! Fucking spoiled brat!"  
  
Then there was the problem of how permanent this was. There really wasn't another option. Willow and Tara, Xander and Anya, Giles..she really didn't want to go back to Sunnydale. It could never get back to normal there, not with Buffy and mom gone. Not like this would ever be normal. I So would she go back to school? She missed seven months of eighth grade and it was November now, so she missed part of ninth too. Would she start back at eighth grade? She had been a really good student before..and now she'd be a remedial kid.  
  
  
  
I heard her screaming in the middle of the night. Dad put her in the room next to mine. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering whether I should go wake her or just let it pass. She cried out again and I couldn't take it. I went out through my door into the long hallway and opened her door.  
  
"No! I didn't mean to! I won't tell anybody I promise! Stay!" she screamed, and her legs curled up. I reached out to touch her, then stopped myself, remembering her reaction before. In Quor-toth, I never touched anyone unless I was killing them. But as I got used to this world, it seemed like people liked to touch each other. I didn't really understand why Dawn was different. Dad had told me a little of what had happened to her after she went to bed. I don't understand why anyone would do that to anybody. But maybe touching is like cookie dough - if you have too much, you stop wanting it.  
  
"Dawn," I whispered as she continued to thrash. "Dawn!" I said louder. She opened her eyes.  
  
"Connor?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"You had a nightmare. I just thought I'd wake you." Ok, maybe I was looking for an excuse to go into her bedroom. She wiped tears from her eyes and sat up. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
She closed her eyes and shook her head. Then she was staring at me again, only not at my face. I'm just wearing sweatpants, and I don't mean to brag, but I don't look half bad. Neither does she. She's wearing Fred's tank top and PJ pants, and even though she was still bruised and her face was tear-streaked, she was beautiful.  
  
"If you want, I can stay here." Dawn hesitated. She felt safe with him, but still. Connor saw her slightly alarmed look. "I meant I could sleep on the floor. Keep you company."  
  
"Oh," she said, relieved. "That would be nice." She got up and gave him two of the five extra blankets Angel had given her in case she got cold. She also passed him one of the pillows from her bed and he made himself a pallet on the floor. "Sleep tight," she said.  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N: Check out Buffy and Angel - The Next Generation! Well, technically Dawn isn't REALLY the next generation, but you know what I mean. Right? That was weird. Sigh. Please review! 


	7. Introductions

Chapter 7 - Introductions  
  
Connor awoke with the sun streaming down on his face. He sat up and saw Dawn still in the bed next to him. She was sleeping peacefully. He stood up and quietly snuck out the door. Angel was knocking on the door to his bedroom, frustrated because no one was responding.  
  
Angel jumped when Connor came out the next door. "Connor!"  
  
"Dad!"  
  
"What were you.doing in there?"  
  
"Nothing. Sleeping. OH, nothing."  
  
Angel crossed his arms. "You've known her for less than 24 hours. Please don't tell me you-"  
  
"I didn't. She had a nightmare and I went in there to keep her company." Angel muttered something about excuses. "So what did you want anyway?"  
  
"Well I was wondering if you wanted to talk about colleges."  
  
"Dad, it doesn't make any sense. There are no records of me being in school anywhere before senior year. No transcripts."  
  
"We could say you grew up in a small village in Africa where you didn't go to school. Plus, diversity points, you know what I'm saying." Angel smiled.  
  
Connor thought for a minute. "I guess I could think about it."  
  
"Great. Hey, what about Notre Dame? It's a great school."  
  
"Isn't that in France?"  
  
"Yes, good! I knew you were smart."  
  
"I'm not going to college in France."  
  
"No, it's a different one. Uh, look, I'll get some materials on some schools you could think about, and we'll talk about this later."  
  
Dawn started ninth grade at Hemery High School the next Monday. They agreed to allowing her to go to ninth grade as long as she was tutored to catch up. She got new clothes, and after school, Connor showed her around. She made a couple new friends named Jessie and Morgan. They had been best friends since they were seven, but were really welcoming to Dawn. They made some screechy noises when they found out she was living with *the Connor Angel*, but they knew better than to ask too much about why she was coming into school three months late. They pretended not to notice her fading black eye, the still bright bruise on her cheek, or the fear that shone in her eyes every time their science teacher, Mr. Gray or their history teacher, Mr. Wells spoke to her.  
  
On Wednesday, Dawn was incredibly excited, because she knew she would get to see Spike that night. He was meeting her at the hotel and taking her to see Hollywood's latest vampire disaster, Queen of the Damned, and going out to dinner. Dawn raced home with Connor at her heels.  
  
Spike arrived at 6:58. Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Fred and Gunn had left to fight some evil demon preying on Starbucks employees half an hour before. He entered the hotel to find Connor sitting on the couch reading.  
  
"Are you Spike?" asked Connor, standing up.  
  
"Yeah, that would be me. Who the hell are you?"  
  
"I'm Connor, Angel's son."  
  
"Huh. Well, I guess that makes us cousins or something enit?"  
  
"Uh, why?"  
  
"Well, Darla, your mum, sired Angel, your dad, who sired Drusilla, who sired me and sired Darla, again, and then you were born. I suppose you're like my nephew and my uncle, now that I think about it."  
  
"You're a vampire?"  
  
"Oi, I'm not just a vampire. I'm the big bad! I'm THE vampire. Put the kiddies safe in their beds and lock the doors cuz I'm gonna-"  
  
"So tell me again why you're taking a 15 year old girl to a movie based on an Anne Rice book?"  
  
"You know, I don't like you very much."  
  
"What are you gonna do? Bite me? I dare you." Connor smirked.  
  
Spike thought for a minute. Bugger. I can't bite him. The Great Poof might get a wee bit angry. I would though, really. I'd do it. "Well, I have a prior appointment. This isn't over though. By the way, don't touch the Bit."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I'm just saying, if you go near my Nibblet I'll snap your neck like a twig. Got it?"  
  
"Uh, yeah.sure." Connor swallowed.  
  
"Good. Where is she anyway?"  
  
"I'll go get her." Connor walked up the stairs. Connor knocked on her door and she almost knocked the door down when he said Spike was there. She raced down the stairs and hugged him.  
  
"SPIKE!"  
  
"Hey, Nibblet. Shall we?" Spike glanced behind him and smirked at Connor as they walked out the door together.  
  
"So how's school going, bit?"  
  
"It's ok. I made a couple new friends, and Connor's been really nice." I don't really think Spike likes him too much. Maybe now's not the best time to tell him I like Connor.more than a friend. Well, it's not like it matters. I'm just a stupid lowly freshman. A mentally unstable stupid lowly freshman.  
  
"Is he now?" Spike asked. Sodding jackass. I swear to God, if he touches one hair on her head.bloody hell. Spike looked around. Dawn was nowhere to be seen. "DAWN?" he called out. No answer. 


	8. Real

A/N: This is the last chapter. I hope you guys liked it.  
  
Dawn wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but she was pinned against a wall, with one of his hands covering her mouth, and the other sliding up beneath her skirt. He was harshly whispering into her ear. "Why did you just leave me there Dawnie? You didn't think I'd just let my baby girl go did you? I found you. I knew you'd be here. Waiting for me." Then his mouth was on hers. He tasted like beer, too much beer. She put her hands on his chest in an effort to push off from him, but he just pulled her closer with one arm, his other hand off somewhere she tried to shut out, the way she always used to.  
  
Spike ran around the corner of the building, where he saw a horrible scene playing out before his eyes. He pulled Riley off Dawn and punched him in the face harder than he had ever punched anyone. "Ow," he sighed, clutching his hand. Riley saw his opportunity and punched him several times before he could recover. "Spike!" Dawn screamed. She stood, unsure of what to do.  
  
Connor ran outside when he heard Dawn scream. He ran to the side of the building where Riley was pummeling Spike. Connor hit Riley in the back of the head. Riley didn't react to Connor's punch, he only turned around and grabbed Connor by the neck, pinning him up against the wall of the hotel. Dawn ran back inside and Spike tried to get Riley's hands off of Connor's neck. He punched him again, but it was no use. Then there was a thwacking noise, and Riley's grip on Connor loosened suddenly. He dropped Connor to the ground as Dawn removed Angel's axe from his back. He fell to the ground as Dawn repeatedly chopped at him.  
  
Spike and Connor watched for a minute before Spike said quietly, "That's enough bit." Riley was good and dead, and he didn't want Dawn to get hurt from this any more than she had to. Murder does things to people. To humans anyway. She dropped the axe to the ground. Connor coughed.  
  
"You kids get inside," said Spike. "I'll take care of this."  
  
"What are you gonna do with it?" asked Dawn quietly, staring at Riley's remains.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Just go inside and get cleaned up. And try not to mention it.to Angel or anyone.alright?" Connor and Dawn nodded. They parted ways. They went inside. "Here," said Dawn. "You sit," she gestured to the round blue couch in the lobby, "and I'll get the first aid kit." Connor nodded and she left for a minute. She came back, sat next to him and started cleaning a cut on his hand.  
  
He watched as she tried to squeeze Neosporin onto a band-aid. Her hand was shaking so badly that she couldn't get the band-aid to cover the right place on his hand.  
  
"Stop," he said. He took the band-aid from her and put it on his hand. She took out an ice-pack and started icing his neck. He watched her face. She looked so beautiful. And sad.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"You wouldn't have gotten hurt if it weren't for me."  
  
He shook his head. "It's not your fault. And I'm fine." She swallowed. "Are you hurt?"  
  
She shook her head, and took the ice pack off his neck, putting it back in the first aid kit. He hesitantly reached out and touched her cheek. At first she flinched, and he almost took it back, but then he saw her close her eyes and lean her head into it. A tear fell onto his hand and she opened her eyes and sat up again. "I'm sorry about all this. Really. It's not your problem. You shouldn't have to-"  
  
"Dawn," he said. "I grew up in a hell dimension. I've waited my whole life to find someone who understood what that was like." He looked at her and he knew. But he would wait for her. He wouldn't kiss her first. She leaned over and kissed him, and then she rested her forehead on his. Angel and the gang opened the door and they separated. Noticing his son's bruised neck, Angel looked at him worriedly. "What happened?"  
  
"Demon," said Connor.  
  
"What kind of demon?" asked Angel.  
  
Connor shrugged. "I'd never seen it before."  
  
"Well what did it look like?" asked Angel.  
  
"Big...ugly..." Connor shrugged again.  
  
"Dawn?" asked Angel.  
  
She looked down. "I don't remember."  
  
Angel sighed. "Fine. You guys okay?"  
  
They nodded. Angel went upstairs. They just sat there, whispering, until everyone had gone to bed or left, and then Dawn settled against him again. "I'm glad you're here," she said sleepily.  
  
"Me too." END. 


End file.
